This was a great company to work for. Every level of management was accessible. You felt like you had real input to decisions made at all levels of management. It also had a family like atmosphere with a lot of good people.

Cons

No longer there. ML has been swallowed up and combined with several other divisions within AEGON to become Transamerica Life & Protection. It now runs and feels like a big company which has its good and bad points. The management structure is much deeper and the sense is that management is much more detached.

Disconnect between Corporate HQ's and local agency managers. Corporate is for doing it right and local agency managers that I had were all for doing it their way. Unprofessional male managers that talked trash to females and treated the job as if it were their way or the highway. If you didn't like their approach they retaliated in their own ways. Don't be a female and say no to them because they the male managers got together to make your life with them fail because they will not allow you to grow and do well. Sex harassement and discrimination by local managers...for sure! Don't dare produce more than the boss because he will not allow you to get ahead. That was my experience and worse than I am prepared to say here.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Have corporate monitor closely the local agencies and how they operate.

The chance for advancement and to make money is unlimited. They will help you succeed any way they can. The training is second to none.

Cons

You are on call at all times, they call early 7:30 am and late 11pm every day of the week except sundays. You cant ask for a day off or you are given the third degree about missing out on sales and made to feel like you dont care about your job.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

I am a very motivated person and i understand that some people need to be pushed and that they lie about working and what they are doing, but some of us dont need to be "bird dogged" or baby sat, its degrading and demeaning. I feel like im on call all the time, i signed on to be available to my clients at any and all times but this 24/7 thing that you think you can call and i MUST answer the phone is b.s.

Flexible Schedule - You can work as many or as few hours as you would like as long as you meet mimumum sales goals. You are not expected or pressured to work weekends/holidays. Benefits Package is above average: Health/Dental/Vision, 401k, Pension Plan, Stock Options. Advancement is possible if willing to relocate. You are given a book of business which pays service commissions immediately (essentially acting as a salary).... though it's not enough to live off without generating your own sales, it's better than what most insurance companies offer to start. Mileage is an itemizable tax deduction.

Cons

It's a Sales Position!! Meeting weekly/monthly goals can be stressful. If you're expecting a six-figure income, it's not likely... $35,000/1st year, $40,000/2nd year is more reallistic.... and that doesn't factor in your gas/car expenses. Expect to work nights! Warm-calls are not much better than cold-calls... you need thick skin. Expect to put some miles on your own car.... In two years I put 60,000 miles on my vehicle and that was strictly work miles.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Make the client's best interest the focus rather than the sales numbers!! In the two years I worked for Monumental, I saw a shift from focus on the client to more of a focus on the numbers/sales goals. Agent's compensation went up through consolidation at the expense of the services provided. Not a recipe for long-term success.

Agents service an existing customer base (renewals are paid as base salary). It is relatively easy to earn a promotion - there is a lack of competent sales managers and/or district managers. Openings are frequent at the sales manager level. Easy-to-do job: the agents are selling policies to an unsophisticated, uneducated clientele for their own, immediate financial gain.

Cons

Pressure for results at any cost. Lack of respect for the agents. Agents have to collect premiums in dangerous areas. Charges for lapses on policies written many years ago. Unethical behavior is sometimes tolerated.